The Looking Glass
by Paragonstein
Summary: The Mirror Knight waits in an eternity for his King to return. He wields a mirror by an unknown craftsman, and utilises its power in his task to guard the King's Passage. However, looking into a mirror is not unlike looking into the pits of Great Dark: it always looks back.
1. Chapter 1

The Mirror Knight shook himself as raindrops slid down his back. All around him was a cluster of water, either falling or sliding. The weather did not do much to help his bored mind.

He had been standing like this for longer than he remembered himself. Most likely multiple lives according to men's standards. But the Mirror Knight was no man. His Soul, granted to him by the King himself, had kept him alive since the Great War. When the Giants crossed the Sea… The memories weren't comforting, but they kept him from going crazy.

The Mirror Knight's best distraction however, was his own shield. A shield shaped like a giant mirror, it was seemingly made of glass, but the thing was inshatterable. He had tried many times himself, but the sturdy plate never broke down.

Only once had he seen it break down. Approximately every century, an adventurer came through Drangleic Castle, where he or she was forced to face the Mirror Knight. Once, the Mirror Knight had felt the power of another soul in his shield. Before he could inspect the soul, a dark-purple phantom blasted out of the glass plate in his shield. He had summoned another human, only this one was on his side. The phantom could even heal the Mirror Knight's wounds. It had been a lucky summon too, since the opposing human had two golden phantoms with him.

The Mirror Knight's shield wasn't broken there either, though. The glass which laid sprawled all over the floor had mysteriously reappeared in the shield's mirror again. The silver and black thing was a mystery, indeed, even to the Knight himself. He would've liked to meet the craftsman.

A sudden sound coming from the entrance caused the Mirror Knight to turn his head in that direction. Before him stood a blonde, tall woman wearing the armor set of Faraam, save for the helmet. Her shield was a basic green, but her sword stood out. It was a warped and twisted Scimitar-like weapon. The Mirror Knight had seen it before. The sword was reminiscent of an equally warped owner.

Behind the woman came a gold and white phantom. One was a male mage carrying no weapon but his catalyst, which was ash grey. The other was a tanky looking man, using a greatsword which seemed like it was not supposed to be wielded by any man. The mage wore simple robes, but the berserker wore an unusual set. It looked like black steel, but the shoulders, chest and legs had masterfully forged curves. Penetrating the armor seemed almost impossible at the tip of the curves. Hadn't the Mirror Knight read about a certain group of warriors which used this set?

No matter, because it wouldn't save the man's life if he was struck by the mighty lightning which thundered above.

The trio seemed to eye the Mirror Knight from tip to toe, trying to find a weakness in his shining armor. The Mirror Knight did not want to let them find it, so he broke their concentration by slamming his shield into the ground, and saying: _"Who do you seek?"_

The woman was unafraid, and took a step forward with her chin raised high: "Your King is who we seek! If you may let us pass, no harm will befall you, knight!"

The Mirror Knight answered by raising his sword high, and letting lightning strike it. It imbued his sword with its deadly power, and after a few seconds, the entire armor was crackling with electricity. _"You are brave woman… But no man, or woman, or group of either…" _He looked up; _"Can slay me."_

The silence fell upon them once again, with only the occasional crack of lightning disturbing the silence. The woman was unamazed by his display of power, but the two phantoms displayed more fear. Getting struck by lightning was not pleasant, and being cut with a sword was deadly. Getting struck by a lightning-infused sword which was about as long as they were tall, would indeed scare off most men. However, the woman still stood tall, almost challenging the Mirror Knight to a battle of wills. Would the woman bend to the legendary Looking Glass' power, or would the Mirror Knight fall to the woman's unbendable will?

Rain was sliding down the back of the woman's nose, while her eyes never left the Mirror Knight's. The Knight decided to earn himself the element of surprise.

"_Enough of this!" _He yelled, before cutting a line of lightning between the woman, warrior and mage. The mage was now momentarily isolated from the other fighters, earning the Mirror Knight time to eliminate him before they could recover. He slammed his shield into the ground, locking it in place, before charging the confused mage. The poor man noticed the hulking knight charging him, and only barely reached rolling away from a two-handed vertical slash. He did not reach recovering however, before the Mirror Knight backhanded him with such power that he was sent flying at least six feet before landing face first. The Mirror Knight raised his sword to finish the job, but was hit by a spell in the back, which caused him to stumble and fall past his fallen enemy. Getting up again, he noticed that the mage had reached recovering, and was now backing away, while the two others were starting to make their way around the path of lightning the Mirror Knight had spawned.

At the end of the path was the Mirror Knight's shield, at which the warrior stopped.

"I see a person in there."

"It's a mirror, come on!" The woman screamed, eager to help her friend.

"No, it ain't me, that be someone else!" He answered, as the figure behind the glass grew bigger and bigger. "I think he's tryin' to get ou-"

The glass shot out of the shield, cutting the man's face severely. Out of the mirror came a deep purple phantom, which shone brightly due to the rain which hit it. The phantom was a man in a Hexer's robe, with the mask of the Lost Sinner. In his right arm was the roaring halberd of the dreaded Skeleton Lords, and in his left was a deep black chime. The man was sinister to say the least, and clearly powerful.

He seemed to recover quickly from being shot out of the mirror, and went after the stunned warrior. His halberd met the warrior's greatshield, and they clashed.

The woman watched both of her companions, wondering which one she should help. She decided the mage, since he was not built for fighting alone.

The Mirror Knight launched a mighty swing toward the stumbling mage, not giving him time to cast a spell or conjure some defense. Lightning was striking the ground around the Looking Glass, making him look even more grand and sinister. Finally, the timing of the Mirror Knight was timed perfectly. Just as lightning shook the ground, the sword cut the mage's chest, sending him flying backwards once again. The Looking Glass realized that he was no longer a threat, and turned around… Only to receive another spell in the face.

_Goddamn caster-coward! Good thing she is alone now, _he thought, taking note of his Mirror Squire which was fighting of the warrior on the other side of the arena. He turned his gaze on the woman.

"_You realize that you are now facing me alone? How will you hope to defeat me? Annoy me to death with your spells?"_

"I intend to cut your silvertounge out first, knight, before smashing your precious shield and cutting you open with the glass!"

"_Well then," _the Mirror Knight answered, before putting his sword in two hands. _"Let's fight."_

"Gladly."

The woman charged with her sword and shield ready, and raised her sword to attack. _Big mistake. _The Mirror Knight swung his sword towards her exposed side, lightning crackling in the blade as he did. Before the hit landed, the woman backstepped arrogantly, before imbuing her sword with lightning. The Mirror Knight hadn't even noticed that she had switched her shield out for a golden chime. _I am not focusing enough… or at least that is what she is trying to make me think._

The Mirror Knight knew that lightning wouldn't hurt his armor a bit, nor would her sword, but he also knew that this woman was smart. He wouldn't take any chances. Lifting his sword for a horizontal swing, he looked for what she might do next. He was going to try to display power, and perhaps intimidate her, but he wasn't certain about what she was going to do. He decided to scare it out. He swung his sword mightily, almost hitting her with its edge. Following up rapidly, he swung vertically on the next hit. Thunder shook the earth as the blade hit the ground, and the woman stumbled slightly.

She still hadn't switched back to her shield, which surprised the Mirror Knight. How would she defend herself if he just charged her? He did so, and tried to backhand her with his free hand. She rolled under it, and he did a spinning cut to keep her on the defensive. He raised his sword again, and sent lightning in her direction. She was caught off-guard, and the lightning electrified her armor so bad that she fell over while heaving for breath. Before she could recover he placed a foot on her chestplate, and pinned her down.

"_I am to give you a few last words. Speak them quick." _

She started whispering.

"_What?"_

Her whispering didn't grow louder.

"_May I hear what you say?"_

Her whispering grew faster. Then he noticed that her talisman was shining white. All this time she had prepared a powerful spell.

"_NOO-!" _And then, the eight feet tall Mirror Knight, wearing armor weighing 1.5 tons, was flying backwards, sailing at least six feet above the ground. He collided with his still-standing shield, knocking it over, before sliding at least twice the distance he flew.

Enraged, he picked his shield up, before slowly picking himself up. No clear damages were done to his armor, but his body was aching at the neck, which was where he collided with the shield. The shield was, as always, seemingly free of damage.

He slammed his shield down with such force, that the ground cracked, and thunder split the skies. _"Mirror Squire!" _he shouted. _"Come back to me!"_ The Mirror Squire turned, and acknowledged, before slowly backpedaling away from the man he was dueling. The mage was slowly picking himself up, while the woman was healing him with her miracles. The warrior was returning to his partners.

"_Oh servants of the Looking Glass, may thy soul be transformed into a corporeal being, before unveiling thyself through the Summoning Gate. Unveil!"_

The mirror blasted out once again, and stepping forth was a warrior the polar-opposite of the previous summon. This one had the armor of Alva the Wayfarer, the Iron Mask of Heide, and a shield of Drangleic smiths. His sword however, was the most intimidating factor about him: the ultra greatsword of the infamous Pursuer, who collected the souls of Undead who travelled the lands of Drangleic. This sword was a symbol of hate, shame, power and sin.

The woman looked at the trio, before shouting: "Who are you summoning to fight us?! These men wield weapons of Legends, which are written of in stories, never seen in real form! That sword is as infamous as the… man, who once wielded it!"

The Mirror Knight answered by slamming his shield down once again: _"Maybe you now realize that it was a mistake to fight me, warrior-princess?" _

The woman had clearly lost her stature. Now she wasn't facing _one_ great warrior, but _three._ The Mirror Knight alone had almost defeated two of them, and now that they were three on three, defeating them seemed impossible! She decided to take on the toughest one herself: "I'll fight the tall one. You two take the others."

"Aye," answered the brutish man beside her. "I'll take the guy with the big sword. See if it'll help him from mine!" He banged his equally giant sword against his shield. She mustered the most confident smile she could. "We can still win, guys. We can still win." She didn't believe it herself, so she avoided looking them in the eye. She wouldn't want to take their confidence from them.

And then they charged. The Mirror Knight took aim at the woman in the middle, intending to make her suffer for the humiliation she caused him. To his right, was the hexer, who ran straight for the man with the huge sword, while he was coating himself in Dark. To his left, the knight he had summoned latest was charging the frail mage, each step almost as loud as the Mirror Knight's own. They were undoubtedly going to win this.

The gaps quickly closed… And they clashed. The Mirror Knight swung a mighty blow aimed at the woman's head, which she backstepped. He swung again, and she ducked under this time. Her follow-up charge was hindered by his mighty shield, before he pushed her nine feet back. He closed the gap quickly, swiping at her legs this time. She countered with a spell, which she had readied after he pushed her. It deflected off his shield, and hit her back instead. She slid backwards, before her path was hindered by a piece of debris. Stars split her vision in multiple places, and she knew that she didn't have long to recover. True enough, the Mirror Knight had already caught up with her, and was charging his weapon with lightning. He sent a line of lightning in her direction, which hit her square in the chest. He kept the string going, before cutting it off. He knew that she was close to being knocked unconscious.

"_I'll save you for last." _He said, before turning to observe his comrades. They had swapped opponents now, so it was mage-on-mage and knight-on-knight. The hexer was coating his weapon and immediate area with dark, while the mage had more than enough with defending himself and keeping his offensive spells ready for a counter. No opening to retort was granted the poor man though. The knight wielding the Pursuer's sword had no immediate advantage, as his opponent was a sturdy and brave man, but he was keeping his heavy strings of attacks going. He would eventually win that battle, even if he had no advantage at the moment.

The Mirror Knight decided to finish the mage, as he was clearly the weakest link. Stepping in from behind the mage, he put his shield up, like a barricade. The backpedaling man would eventually be trapped between the Mirror Knight's shield and a hexer's maddening spells. Not the place he wanted to be.

When the man's back hit the Mirror Knight's shield, the sudden blockade came so suddenly that he fell forward again. Before he could pick himself up, the Mirror Squire's hexes did. Slowly the man was raised off the ground, before he was hanging helplessly in the air. The hexer whispered words as dark as night into his chime, before absorbing the mage's very lifesource into himself. What was left of the poor man, was a husk, already rotting away. He was Hollowed.

The Mirror Knight signalized for the hexer to help finish the other phantom as well, before checking on his electrocuted foe. She was awake now, but seemingly unable to move. Her mouth and eyes were open, and she was breathing, but her body was still too hurt to move. The Mirror Knight slowly closed the gap between them, before bending down to one knee, and dropping his weapons.

"_Are you awake now?" _he asked. Her eyes slowly met his, and out came few words:

"What are you?"

The Mirror Knight considered the question, before answering: _"As of now, wondering who or what I am is a strange thing to care about. You can say I am a guardian, a monster, a beast, a fighter, a magician… an enjoyer of the moment. But what am I really, right now?" _He leaned in to her: _"I, am your martyr." _

He stood up, and turned around just to see his two squires pin the other man down in a pool of water, before brutally stabbing him to death with their weapons. He turned back to the woman, and bent down again. _"You Undead can take quite the beating, am I right?"_

She met his eyes, and slowly nodded. _"Good. Then this will not be quick." _Then he grabbed her shoulders, lifted her up, before slamming her down on his opposite side. Not waiting, he kicked her side so she flew into a set of pillars, which collapsed as she hit them. He calmly walked over to the place where she lied, and saw that she was clearly fading. Not allowing it, he bent down and took her estus flask out of her pouch. He put it to her mouth: _"Drink!" _

She didn't dare to do anything else, so she obliged. Estus flasks only fixed wounds, but they did not mend any pain. Only a miracle with the right verses could do so. So, when she had taken a few slurps, he grabbed hold of her once again, and tossed her over to his Mirror Squires, which pinned her arms down. _"Leave," _The Mirror Knight commanded. _"You are not needed anymore." _

The Squires hesitated slightly, before nodding, and fading away back to their own worlds. The rain was still falling in bucketloads, almost obscuring the Mirror Knight's vision. It fit the situation, he thought. No man, or woman, would humiliate the mighty Looking Glass. No one.

NO-one.

Charging over to her once again, he picked her up by the foot, after which he tossed her into the castle wall. She didn't even hit the ground before his foot collided with her midsection, bulking the armor inwards. Blood spilled from the spot, coloring her cloth crimson. Her face was contorted with pain, but she did not find the will to scream. For once, she regretted her action; pushing the Mirror Knight back with her miracle may have saved her from a quick death, but it was rather preferable to this. Now he was slamming her face into the ground repeatedly, her nose bleeding, and she could almost feel her cranium crack. If she hadn't been Undead, her body would have collapsed long ago. Unfortunately, it hadn't. _Goddamn the curse, goddamn my battle-hardened mind, and GODDAMN THE MIRROR KNIGHT!_

Then she felt the Knight's gauntlet close around her jaw, and her head was turned to face him. Right there and then, she realized what she was looking at: A cold, ancient stare. One that she had been so foolish to fight, and even more foolish to hurt. The Mirror Knight was a powerful soul, one that she would so like to have herself, but she wouldn't. Instead, she would die, in this cold rain, with blood running down her face and body, while she was regretting starting this hopeless journey.

She stepped through the Mirror Knight's entrance with confidence.

Now, she dies to the Mirror Knight's hand, with regret.


	2. Chapter 2

The sound of rain constantly beating the ground around you can be quite comforting. However, after a few hundred years of no change in weather, it gets quite tiring. Especially if you're clad in cold steel which constantly weighs down on your shoulders. The Mirror Knight was a strong being, but the armor still felt heavier and heavier with each passing day.

Since the last battle, three years had passed. The woman had not been finished before she was begging for mercy, while she was cold, bleeding, with six or seven broken bones. At the time, it was delight for the Mirror Knight… Now, it disgusted him. Since then, he had trained his mind, combat, and heart. His heart, which was then rotten with contempt, was now a more pure thing. Since the last encounter, he had used all his time thinking. Thinking about life, death, Undead, combat, the woman's face as he plunged her into a deep pool of water without letting her up… He now understood, he was not the only being with a soul.

The woman might not have had much to life for, but she still LIVED. She had her own mind, goals, feelings… All them gone after a few seconds of lost breath. He had tried to convince himself that he was doing Undead a favor by killing them, but his mind only looped around how unnecessary it was to brutalize her so badly.

Yes, he had waited hundreds of years.

Yes, he was guarding the only path to Vendrick.

Yes, he needed to kill if he was to do his only duty…

Was it still the right thing to do? The answer was simple.

He shook his head, trying to forget the constantly racing pictures in his head. What was done was done, he understood that now. Sins were eternal, and those he had committed, he could not fix. That was his own fault. But lingering with dark thoughts was the best way to go mad, and the Mirror Knight needed to keep sane if he was to guard the King's passage. That was his duty, and that was what he was going to do.

He rose, and picked up his thorned greatsword. A mighty beast of a weapon, wielding it was almost impossible for humans, as the strength required to even pick it up was tremendous. The Mirror Knight, however, swung the silver blade like a small straight sword. To him, it was flexible, powerful, and perfect for his hand. Just like his ever so fascinating shield.

He took a few swings with his sword. It felt good to maneuver his body in the rain. Sometimes, he wondered if the humanoid body was created specifically to hold a sword. It just felt so… natural. His hand fit perfectly around the hilt, and swinging the sword could be done in so many ways, all of which his body allowed. He took a few practice swings, before he heard a sound inside his head. He felt his thumb hit his index-finger as they touched across the hilt. He knew the enemy was coming.

Turning around, he backhanded the first enemy. It flew backwards, colliding with its allies in the process. Behind the allies came a behemoth of a dog, way oversized after human standards, reaching about to the Mirror Knight's chest. Before it could sink its teeth into him though, the Mirror Knight planted a boot into its ugly face, before slicing it in two, head to tail.

Now the enemy was recovering, and they were forming various formations. Spearmen in front, behind their greatshields, and behind those were regular footsoldiers, and behind them again were crossbow wielders. The Mirror Knight readied his shield, and charged the enemy. Arrows collided with his mighty shield, but they were but splinters to the Looking Glass. Reaching his enemy, he tore two men down with his shield. Noticing the left part of his enemy still trying to pull their spears back, he chose to finish them first. One massive lightning strike later, the entire left part of the group was evaporated. The right side however, was more than ready for him now, and they were already jabbing at him with their spears. A few kissed his armor, but his shield absorbed the most major brunt.

The Mirror Knight summoned lightning from the sky to hit his shield, which caused the entire enemy to back off in fear. The sudden close-to-contact with lightning blinded many of the soldiers, and one mighty swipe later, two more down. Another one, and a man is sliced in two. A third one, and lightning exudes from his sword like a beautiful lightshow of death.

After this, only one man stands, still defying the Mirror Knight with his greatshield and halberd. The Mirror Knight asks: _"Are you the leader of this group?"_

The man does not answer. _"You have fought valiantly, sir knight. If you lay down your weapons, I will let you go."_

Then the knight disappears. The Mirror Knight sighs. Unfortunately, letting dreams live will not atone his sins.

* * *

"_Spread out! Incoming fireball!" the Looking Glass shouted as three flaming rocks descended upon his group from the skies. Here, upon the wall of the King's fort, there was not much room to maneuver, so the Mirror Knight could only watch with regret as three of his brave soldiers were roasted by the inferno created by the rocks. Even the constant storm's rain could not save them._

_He couldn't linger on it though; the Giants were coming. Using their huge hands, they dug into the wall below, and ascended using only their limbs. Below were more ships, containing hundreds of Giants in each. The Mirror Knight knew that this was a lost battle, unless a God came to their aid._ On_ the other side of the wall was Velstadt, using his giant club to sink the ships by summoning his powerful lightning. As little as the Mirror Knight liked to admit it, he was a powerful ally, and he knew that without him, the battle would be lost already._

_The Royal Aegis was using his club like a man wields a greatsword, but with much more refined efficiency and technique. Every lightning bolt, every swing, every turn, whatever he did, he was making the Giants one less in number. _

_The Mirror Knight turned his attention down to the Giants ascending the wall again, and readied his own lightning. It fueled him, gave him power, bravery… and one formidable weapon against the Giants. And then he launched a string of lightning down the wall, which electrocuted one of the Giants, before linking itself with the numerous others ascending the wall. With a unified moan, they all fell back into the storming sea below._

_The Mirror Knight turned to his soldiers: _"_The Giants will reach us in not long! I will stand in front, while you will only help when a Giant attacks you itself! DO NOT help me! Understood?!"_

_A loud chant was heard throughout his legion, and the Mirror Knight nodded, proud over his group's loyalty. They followed his word in battles, and their heart in combat. They were strong-willed, and would follow their captain to the death._

_The Mirror Knight knew the Giants were coming, but he would not make it easy on them. Charging his mighty weapon with lightning once again, he aimed it at a ship in the center of his vision. The powerful bolt went straight through the hull, and the ship started to go under. Readying a second strike, he aimed this one at a closer ship, which was already starting to let Giants off. However, just as his bolt was to pierce the hull, it met a mighty blockade. _

The Giants have sorcerers? _The Mirror Knight thought. He never took his enemy for granted, but Giants had always seemed to rely on their physical strength rather than magic. This complicated things. _

"_Ready your weapons!" the Mirror Knight shouted to his comrade. "They are coming."_

_Just as he said that, the first Giant escalated the wall. A huge, malformed creature, on its back were two humongous stone hammers. Its shoulders were ridiculously oversized, and the entire creature wore nothing but a pair of short, leather pants. When it rose, it was about two heads taller than the Mirror Knight. Speaking off heads, the monster had no face, just a gaping hole. The Mirror Knight didn't know if severing its head would kill it, but he intended to find out. _

_The Giant reached behind its back for its hammer, and pried the things loose. The swing came instantaneously. Two crushing hammers descended on the Mirror Knight, who took the brunt on his shield. Thanks to its magic, the hit was absorbed without damaging the Knight himself. The Giant was too slow to react to the Mirror Knight's counterattack, so it took a big cut across its chest. It didn't seem to notice the hit at all, as its next swing came instantly. This was not expected, and the Mirror Knight braced himself for the incoming flight…_

_But he didn't need to. Opening his eyes, he saw a golden gauntlet holding the Giant's swing at bay, mere feet from the Mirror Knight's face. When the gauntlet moved the hammer away, seemingly in slow motion, Velstadt showed himself, before clubbing the Giant back over the wall's edge._

"_They don't feel damage," Velstadt said, nodding to the Mirror Knight. "And you're welcome."_

"_Thank you," The Mirror Knight answered, still surprised by the fact that Velstadt had saved him. "But why aren't you defending the other side of the wall?"_

_Velstadt turned his shoulder, to reveal a towering monster of a Giant. Undoubtedly their Lord. "I was unable to defeat him, so I needed your assistance. If we don't slay him, he will tear this entire place down." _

_The Mirror Knight believed him. The behemoth was at least thrice their sizes, and wielded a sword which looked like it could split the heavens themselves in two. It was no shame for Velstadt to request support. _

_The Mirror Knight reluctantly turned, and gave an order to his soldiers: "You must hold this point yourselves while we finish their Lord. Without their Lord, they will be unable to progress. Remember, your shields will not do much here, so stay on the offensive and take note of that these monsters don't feel pain. Salute!" _

_They saluted, and the Mirror Knight turned to Velstadt, who nodded approvingly, and they both turned to face the Giants' Lord._

_As they got closer, the Mirror Knight really saw how huge this monstrous tower was. It must've been at least thirty feet tall, and if it really wanted to, it could smite them here and now with its sword. It really must've been that far-reaching._

_About twenty feet remained before the Giant raised its sword high, and brought it down on them. The hit missed them marginally, but it still caused them to lose balance. _

I guess it takes the mightiest to become the Lord, _the Mirror Knight thought. He had never seen a more physically powerful being than this. Not even Vendrick, his mighty King, compared to this monster. _

_Velstadt moved in on the Giant's right, and so the Mirror Knight distracted it with lightning. The Lord did not get fooled by their trick though, and as such he swiped straight for Velstadt's exposed back. Velstadt sidestepped the attack, before countering with a mighty blow to the Giant's knee. It didn't even lose balance from the hit, but a groan did escape it's holed head. _

So this one can feel pain, _the Mirror Knight noted. While Velstadt had engaged the Giant head on, the Mirror Knight had charged his lightning to tremendous power. He pulled his sword back-_

_-and a Giant struck him. Behind him, a Giant had seen the battle going on, and had snuck up to the Mirror Knight's exposed back. The hit was luckily absorbed by his powerful armor, but it still knocked him out of balance. The strike must've been just a way of hindering him from damaging their Lord, not to actually hurt the Mirror Knight._

_Turning around, he instead unloaded the remaining energy into the Giant who had snuck up on him. The Giant did not feel pain, however its body still reacted to the massive load it absorbed. It seemed unable to move before-_

_-it collapsed. The load was powerful enough to kill the beast, despite its loss of energy. Now the Mirror Knight turned to the Lord again… and raised his shield just in time to absorb a powerful swing from the Giant. He wasn't actually sure if the magic in the shield could overcome this monster's strength, and got the answer when his back hit the wall a few seconds later._

_Recovering, he shook his head and looked for Velstadt. The Royal Aegis seemed to be recovering from a hit as well, as he was just rising from a pile of rubble. The Mirror Knight met his gaze, and they both nodded. Now they could finally fight this monster without interruption._

_The Giant's next swing was rolled by the Mirror Knight, before Velstadt hit the Giant's back with a lightning bolt. The Giant turned to face him, but was too slow to react when Velstadt two-handed his Sacred Chime Hammer, and drove all his force into the Giant's knee. This hit clearly staggered the Lord, as it took a few steps backwards, and a loud groan escaped the hole in its face. Velstadt made to swing again, but had to on the defensive when the Giant suddenly swung its sword right in front of him. The Mirror Knight now charged in to engage in physical combat, and struck the Lord's leg. _

_The Giant tried to kick him, but it was too slow for the Mirror Knight's dexterity, who easily sidestepped the attack, before landing a cut on the Giant's opposite leg. Now, for the first time, the Giant was reeling, and both Velstadt and the Mirror Knight moved in to strike. Velstadt's hammer swiped the Giant's foot away, and the Mirror Knight's lightning-infused sword was the final ingredient: the Giant Lord fell. _

_As its body collided with the stone, the entire wall shook, and it attracted the attention of everybody currently fighting. The Giants, who saw that their Lord had fallen, immediately charged the two knights. _

"_FINISH HIM!" Velstadt shouted. "Before they reach us!" Then he lifted his hammer high, in unison with the Mirror Knight, who infused his sword with lightning…_

_And then the Giants, the Giant Lord, Velstadt, the soldiers, the entire wall, vanished. _

_And only dark remained…_

* * *

The war with the Giants ended shortly after. At the hands of the Mirror Knight, The Looking Glass, and Velstadt, The Royal Aegis, the Giant Lord was no more.

The Mirror Knight found the memory pleasant. Despite all the deaths that day, it signalized the beginning of the end of the War Against the Giants. The Mirror Knight remembered the Giants all too well… Huge stone creatures who seemed unkillable the first time they were encountered. Their immunity to pain caught the Mirror Knight off-guard so many times, and the battle on the wall was one such time.

He was used to see an enemy's face be contorted with pain every time his sword cut them. The lightning-infused blade was never pleasant to touch, and only the Mirror Knight could wield its full power. It was crafted for his soul, only, and only his soul could control the blade. Just like only he could summon Squires through his shield.

He often wondered who the creator of his equipment was. It must've been one powerful blacksmith, one who could create weapons of magical properties. Only himself, Velstadt, Vendrick and the Pursuer had weapons who were fused with their souls. At least, that was the only ones the Mirror Knight knew of.

Vendrick… His Highness… the King… Where had he gone? The Mirror Knight's thoughts often drifted off to his King. Vendrick's final words to him had been: _"Guard this passage, my trustworthy Knight. Let anyone who challenges your might be snuffed by your power. Your sword is immensely powerful. Your shield is blessed. Your armor is unbreakable. Have faith, and await my return."_

The final words were the ones he remembered the most. _"Await my return…" _He had waited for longer than he could remember now, so where is his King? He travelled with Velstadt, and the two should be an immensely powerful pair, so he didn't worry much in the beginning. But after all this time, the King should've surely returned?

_How many more Undead do I have to kill, before I hear the elevator behind me return, and the clear footsteps of my King return to my eardrums?_

The Mirror Knight did not now, but all he knew, was that he would go crazy if he stayed here for a few more centuries. Getting to fight once every century was way too far in between to keep a stable mind.

_I need combat; I need to keep my mind on something else!_

Just as he thought so, the door to Drangleic castle opened before him, and through stepped a hooded figure. In the figure's arms were a long piece of cloth, which was wrapped around an object.

_Impossible… _the Mirror Knight thought, while slowly standing up. _They only come by every century. This… this has never happened before!_

Picking up his sword and shield, he awaited the usual phantoms which came along. Only this time, they didn't. The man in the cloak was alone.

A few suspenseful minutes followed, until the cloaked man lifted his head slightly. His eyes were redder than the freshest blood, and his jet-black hair was falling in front of his forehead. The man also had a scarf, which covered his mouth and bottom nose. The Mirror Knight didn't know why, but he felt like this was no ordinary man.

Then the human removed the cloth from his weapon, and rightfully enough, the sword of the Lost Sinner was unveiled. This confirmed that this was a man of great power. He had only this sword. No shield, chime or staff. His eyes were locked on the Looking Glass.

The Mirror Knight slammed his shield into the ground, once again, and repeated his typical phrase: _"Who do you seek?"_

After this he waited for regular answer, which was the King, but no, the man surprised him:

"_YOU."_

And then he attacked. He _flew_ into the air with inhuman strength flowing through his legs, and made to swing his sword. The Mirror Knight only barely reached lifting his shield to deflect the hit, and was even more surprised by the staggering power behind it. The man landed in front of him, and lifted his sword to shoulder-height, before executing a powerful stab. This one hit the Mirror Knight's stomach, and the ever-so-surprisingly staggering force behind the hit sent him reeling backwards. His own shield was blocking his eyesight, so he blindly swung in hopes of killing or at least driving the man away.

That was a mistake. The swing was not moderately threatening due to the lack of balance in the Mirror Knight's position, so the man simply jumped over the weak swing, and dropkicked the shield out of the Mirror Knight's hand. That was also a mistake. Blocking was hopeless against this foe, the Mirror Knight knew that, so getting rid of the shield allowed for better sight and more room to maneuver.

_Remember your training, _the Mirror Knight thought, trying to calm his tensed nerves. _This is a powerful opponent, and no ordinary man. Keep calm, and punish his mistakes._

The Mirror Knight used the man's recovery after the kick to recover himself, and put a two-handed grip on his sword. The man did the same, and then they stood like that for something that felt like hours. The Mirror Knight did not dare to attack first, as he was still uncertain of the limits of this man's powers. So he waited… and waited… and…-

-charged. He lifted his sword high, before bringing it down on the man, lightning coursing through his entire body. The sword was brought down on the man's head, and then-

-he parried it. For the first time in the Mirror Knight's very long life, he experienced his blade being torn from his grip, taken by the simple force of another man's blade. The sword landed behind the mysterious man, all the electric powers inside it gone.

Realizing defeat, the Mirror Knight simply asked: _"Who are you?"_

The man looked into the Mirror Knight's eyes, before hissing an all too familiar phrase: _"As of now, wondering who or what I am is quite a peculiar thing, don't you think?"_ The Mirror Knight did not intend it, but he must've looked rather surprised, because: _"You remember similar words escaping your tongue, don't you? To a woman perhaps? A tall, blonde, beautiful warrior she was, and she came here… Before she perished."_

"_You wonder how I know, do you? On my travels, I encountered one of your squires. He invaded me, and I defeated him." _Not surprising, the Mirror Knight thought. _"And then, I asked him if he had seen a woman of this description"_ -he pulled out a picture, and true enough, it presented the woman he had fought three years ago- _"and he answered this: Yes, I fought her when I was summoned by the Mirror Knight, he said. I asked him who this 'Mirror Knight' was, and he pointed to you. He also said that she was not granted a quick death."_

The Mirror Knight bit his lip. When the Mirror Knight engaged in combat, he never had to bite his lip; he _always_ won. But now, against this… supposed _man_, he did so in regret. Killing the woman may have been right, but in the fashion? No, it was wrong.

The Mirror Knight however, despite his defeated state, showed no fear. Mainly because he wasn't scared. The man wanted answers, and wouldn't walk away without them. All he needed to do was play a few mind games, and maybe he could obtain his shield, and summon help.

"_I will answer your questions if you answer mine."_ The Mirror Knight offered, not a word shaking in his voice. He was stable, and calm.

Then the man jumped again, before slicing the Mirror Knight across the chest. The move came so suddenly, the Looking Glass could not hinder himself from falling. A loud slam was heard as his armor crushed the stone beneath it, and seconds later, the Mirror Knight found the man's sword (_Lost Sinner's sword)_ mere centimeters off his face.

"_I DO NOT WANT ANSWERS! I KNOW ALL THAT I WANTED TO KNOW! I AM HERE TO PUNISH YOU, NOT TALK!"_ the man hissed so loudly from within his hood, he literally sounded like a snake.

The Mirror Knight still housed no fear. After all, he knew what the man was after now.

"_Then punish me."_

The silence was so pressing, it could almost be heard. The man hadn't moved his sword an inch, and his gaze was still locked on the Mirror Knight's eyes. The Mirror Knight braced for the cut he knew was coming, but instead the man lowered his sword. He sighed loudly, walked back, and let the Mirror Knight stand up again.

"_Since I am about to kill you anyway, I might as well answer your questions. I am a better man than you are, after all."_

The Mirror Knight reluctantly held back the fact that he was no man, and instead asked:

"_How are you moving so supernaturally? No man I've seen can move like that. Are you truly a man under that cloak?"_ And then he remembered something. _"Or is that not your soul, under a man's skin?"_

And then the silence fell once again. It was broken by the mysterious man sighing, before removing his hood, revealing a burning mark on his forehead.

"_You speak of rare knowledge, Knight, I'll give you that. You are correct; I don't have my own soul anymore." _He gestured to his sword. _"I have her's."_

The Mirror Knight felt his muscles tense slightly. _"Soul-engraving is a strong sin. Few know the art, and even fewer have allowed themselves to fuse their souls with another. _

_If I should take a guess, I would say that you fused yourself with the Lost Sinner's soul?"_

"_Yes. I fused my own soul with the Lost Sinner's. Her sword I use just because it fits my hand, but I would never be able to move like this if it weren't for the soul. Are you as familiar with the Lost Sinner as you seem?"_

"_I only know that she is an ancient being, much older than me, who punishes herself for something she did long ago. I've not had the… _pleasure _of fighting her, but I know from my squires that she moves in a fashion similar to yours."_

The man was clearly a little surprised by the Mirror Knight's extensive knowledge. He had thought that this… thing, was some kind of automaton, not a living, ancient being.

"_Knight, first I must excuse myself for mistaking you for some automaton. You are clearly someone who serves a purpose in this crumbling castle. How long have you stood here?"_

"_Many man's years."_

"_Exactly?"_

"_More than a thousand years. A few millennia, maybe."_

And then the man went silent. _"Where did you find the loyalty? What do you wait for? Or are you guarding something of great value?"_

"_I guard something, which its value is beyond what I can speak in all the years that I've lived."_

Now the man was silenced for minutes. Not a sound, except the rain and thunder, could be heard. And then, he once again let out a deep sigh, before walking over to the Mirror Knight's sword, and tossing it to him. The Mirror Knight caught it in his hand, before curiously cocking his head to the side. Then the man hissed: _"I have nothing more to live for. The woman you killed was my wife if you wondered. My soul is no longer my own, and I have too much respect for you kill you without a proper battle. So, let us fight, until one of us succumbs to his wounds."_

The Mirror Knight bowed his head. _"Know that my respect for you is equal, despite your sin. You spent three years of your life to find me, and even went as far as to sacrifice your own soul. Your dedication is greater than mine, despite the cause it serves."_

And with that, he took his sword in a two-handed grip, once again, and put it in a diagonal position in front of him. The sinner did the same, and like this they stood, while rain poured down and thunder struck. Their wills equally strong, their technique just as impressive, their strength the same… this was the one situation where the Mirror Knight would say: Size, does _definitely_ not matter.

As thunder split the sky, the Mirror Knight swung his blade towards the man's side. When he made to counter it, the Mirror Knight pulled back and instead used the momentum so spin and cut a diagonal slash. The swing was deflected, but the Mirror Knight kept a steady hold on his sword this time.

The man's counterattack was a clear feign, but the Mirror Knight still made to parry it. The man did not realize the trick before his blade was forced of its path, and he stumbled backwards while barely keeping a hold on his shaft. The Mirror Knight tried to swipe him off his feet, but the man kicked his hand away. It was easy to forget his inhuman strength.

The Mirror Knight did not wait for his counter, and instead thrust his sword at the man's chest. It was sidestepped, but the Mirror Knight was quick to pull his sword back before it was knocked out of his hand. The man's sword came in a flash, and the Mirror Knight used his elbow plate to block the hit. Right there, he praised his armor, before imbuing his sword with lightning and almost cleaving the man in two.

Then he made his first mistake. He got greedy when he saw that the man was stumbling after nearly touching his electric blade, and made to swing again. However, just as he thought he had won the fight early, the man _parried_ his sword once again. This time he didn't lose the sword, but he lost all his balance. The man followed up by jumping behind the Looking Glass, and driving his sword into the back of the Mirror Knight's knee.

The pain was so sudden, so sharp, that the Mirror Knight almost fell over. He hadn't experienced a more direct hit than this in the last centuries. The man's sword had found the _one_ place where he did not have armor: the back of his knees.

Attempting to ignore the pain (it was not possible), he turned around and cut a horizontal slice. The Mirror Knight's recovery was faster than most others', so the man only reached lifting his sword to block the hit. No parry was landed, so he slid a few feet back. The Mirror Knight now had an injured leg, a leg that he could've had very good use for in the fight.

Now, the Mirror Knight used the pain as a fuel for angriness, and went straight on the offensive. His feign was not very believable, and so the man only stood and waited for the real hit to come. When it did, it was a punch from his free hand. This was not easily predicted, although it wasn't the cleverest move in the world, it was still not as easily seen so that the man could just parry it. Instead, the strike almost hit the sinner square in the chest, had it not been for his angled body. It was still direct enough to push him a few feet back, but it did not daze him long enoughfor a follow-up attack.

Instead, the Mirror Knight pretended to be fatigued so that the man would try to compensate on it. The act was successful, as the man bent his legs and shot up into the air once again. As he was coming down, the Mirror Knight backhanded the man across the chest, and his sudden counter-momentum knocked all the air out of him, before he violently collided with the stone floor in the Mirror Knight's arena.

The Mirror Knight charged his sword, and spun around, before launching a cascade of lightning bolts against the laid-out man.

The man stood up, turned, looked-

-and jumped. He jumped high above the searing lightning bolts, which passed under him harmlessly. However, the Mirror Knight was ready for this. He readied his sword, pulled it back, and-

-missed. The sword plainly missed the incoming enemy, who had been able to maneuver his body in the air so that he blankly avoided the killer blow. He put his sword in two hands, aimed, and-

-the Mirror Knight swatted the attack aside, shifting the man's momentum, and driving his sword into the ground. He swung at the man's exposed back, and-

-struck. The sword struck the man's back, creating a large gash across his spine, and knocking him plenty of feet away. A yell escaped his lips, a scream of pure agony, representing his wound quite well. The man laid sprawled on the ground, one hand on his back, the other trying to keep a hold on the sword. The knuckles clutching the hilt whitened till they were almost see-through, as such were his pain.

The Mirror Knight considered his options.

He had defeated the man, fair and square, fast and efficiently, and STILL he could not find the strength to finish him. This was after all, a man who had risked everything for vengeance. Revenge was not the most common thing to respect, but when it is stretched to such a degree, it is impossible to not feel for the seeker.

And as such, the Mirror Knight could not descend the blade into the man's heart… if he had one. He could only watch as he suffered.

Finally, the man mustered the power to speak: _"Why are you not finishing me? You beat me, fair and square. I have nothing to live for. Just kill me!"_

The Mirror Knight did not answer; he just walked over to the fallen man.

"_If you want it, I will give you a second chance." _He said through his helmet. The man did not doubt for a second, he just shook his head.

"_Fine."_

And then, the sinner was no more.


	3. Chapter 3

_In this part I am going to try to fill out the plot a little bit. We've had one introductory episode, and one episode where our Mirror Knight battles a mysterious stranger, which I used as an excuse to write an awesome fight scene and introduce a type of magic which may or may not appear again through the story. This isn't the longest chapter, but it's more like a setup to what is coming than anything. _

* * *

Across the mountains dotting the landscape from Drangleic Castle, past the crumbling fort in the Shaded Forest, through a sun-soaked town in the center of it all, under a hill, and past numerous walkways kept by ancient guards, was a shining tower of flame.

It stood as a massive obelisk of light for passing ships to notice, either as a warning, or as a beckon. No one truly knows who built it, or why they built it, but many assume it was built by the Gods who fled their distant land so long ago. Nevertheless, it stood tall, as the rest of the once-bustling city beneath it slowly sank more and more into the sea.

In this sunken city, only one other structure stood fully: a massive cathedral, decorated to the finest corner with ornaments and colored windows complementing its fine architecture. Inside, every wall had torches lit along them, casting the otherwise dark cathedral into a dimmed, careful light.

Inside this cathedral, stood an old being. "Old" was hardly a fitting adjective, as this man was older than the many kingdoms which had stood on Drangleic's spot. "Ancient" was more fitting. Clad in onyx armor, the man stood guard, his red plume hanging behind his back to complement his dark-colored armor. His spear, which was longer than most men, stood as tall as he, with its butt planted firmly into the ground.

Behind this black knight, was a Blue Sentinel. The leader of the noble covenant, Targray, clad in white and gold robes, with silver plates covering his chest and arms. His entire armor was massively decorated with intricate gold lines brandishing his chestplate and gauntlets. The entire man was in stark contrast to the black armored knight in the room behind him, and one could wonder what the two were doing so close to each other, while never speaking a word.

Suddenly, the onyx knight felt a presence in his mind. It spoke of a goal, a lust, a place that he had never seen nor heard of before. And then black smoke clouded his mind, and from that smoke, a picture came. For a brief moment, he saw a black door, with gold decorations on it. _Doors created by the King, _his mind told him. After that he saw a massive keep, before he got a brief view inside it… He'd rather forget what he saw.

And then he saw his goal… A massive shrine coated in sunlight, red dragons coating the skies with their huge leather wings. Their scales gleamed in the sunlight as he saw further into the shrine, past guards with darker armor than himself, past smaller golden warriors, up a large staircase, through a corridor…

He got a brief view of a humongous brown beast, before the vision ended. It all had happened in less than a few seconds, but the Old Dragonslayer now had a clear goal: find the King, get an entrance to the shrine… And he didn't know what waited thither, but he _needed_ to find out.

He turned to Blue Sentinel Targray as the knight stopped by him, before the sentinel asked: "Did you see it too?"

The Dragonslayer nodded. "Then you are coming with me."

And then, with that, the pair walked into the gleaming sunlight of Heide's Tower of Flame.

* * *

Down a giant pit in a sun-soaked town, past an ancient grave of dead saints, through an old system of wooden platforms and walkways, and across a dead pit near the bottom of the earth, two old beings were awakened.

They rose on their powerful legs, supporting themselves on their strong stone arms, and hefted their giant stone hammers on their shoulders. A deep groan escaped the beasts, as their sleep had been since times long past. They were irritated, agitated over their disturbing. Down here they had no purpose, but they had no reason to go up, as they would be slaughtered by the monsters up there. And even worse, the humans! Something great was needed to get these beasts packing and leaving…

Then they looked to one another, before setting their faceless "eyes" on the exit to their cave. And then a groan from seemingly everywhere escaped their throats, and they slowly lumbered towards a light that they hadn't seen since their last war…

Now, with a _purpose_…

* * *

However, up in the sun-soaked town again, past the many mountains dotting the landscape around Drangleic Castle, the Mirror Knight stirred from his sleep. Something had awakened him from his dreams this time, and for once, it was not an invading human. No, this time, it was something inside him.

A call steered the Mirror Knight's eyes to his gate. The door was as still as ever, but for some strange reason, he knew that this might be the last time he slept well and long. That door had a tension over it, like if it was _guarding_ something itself, or as if it knew something huge was coming.

As the thunders above cracked and ripped the sky in pieces, the Mirror Knight adjusted his shield, tested the grip on his sword, and readied himself as he heard rumble inside the castle. He did not know why, but he a feeling that faith herself had twisted her plans for the world massively. He needed not know why, _knowing_ was enough for the Mirror Knight. And what he knew, was that he was the final obstacle between his never-returning King and whatever was trekking through the castle.

He also knew, that he was _ready_…

* * *

_I'm sorry it's so short, but it is more of a setup chapter than anything. I know, it's _dreadfully_ short, but I myself can't wait to keep on writing. I figured I needed some giant twist to carry my plot on, or else this story would end up a giant stalemate. So, despite how short it is, I hope you enjoyed. See you in the next chapturd._

_ALSO ALSO: Battles of Dark Souls is getting an update soon._


	4. Chapter 4

The storming sea beat against the sharp rocks beneath the cliffs of Majula. The usually still water had in few hours become a beating storm of thunder and wind, with no end coming to sight from the all-covering clouds above. They stretched across the sky like a grey carpet of sadness, like a dark Goddess of Tears. The constant rain almost made it seem like Mother Nature had lost her dog.

Such was the thoughts of the Emerald Herald, who only watched as the threatening clouds consumed the once-glistening town of Majula. Or "town"… More like ruins. The once busy settlement now housed two villagers: herself and a crestfallen knight. The crestfallen one never moved from his spot, even now while the storm was whipping his cloth and watering his armor. The Herald had never actually seen him move from the tall obelisk overlooking the town, as if he never had the strength to do it. Strange, considering that his armor was of considerable rank, and that he never put his sword far away. It almost seemed like he was anticipating something…

The Herald dared not ponder upon it for long, as pulling her thoughts on another for too long never turned out well. Besides, she wasn't much better herself. She hadn't left town since she arrived, and she never went far from the cliffs. The reason? She didn't know. All that she knew was that the ocean was what kept her gaze locked. Even now, while it thundered and battered itself around, she couldn't resist looking at its display of power.

A sound from behind was all it took to break her gaze however, as some heavy and some lighter footsteps came her way. Behind her came two knights. One was tall. VERY tall, standing at a minimum of eight feet, clad in the darkest armor imaginable. The chestpiece was richly decorated, showcasing that he was of high rank. Or at least had been. The helmet was the most attention-drawing aspect about him though. A snarling maw shaped like a lion, with teeth and a flowing red mane behind.

She didn't know him, but she was still glad that he was not an enemy.

The other warrior, despite also being decorated to some extent, paled drastically compared to the onyx powerhouse beside him. Wearing robes under a silver and blue plate, he looked like some royal knight. His halberd was sheathed on his back, and he bore no shield, like his companion. On his head rested an open-faced helmet.

The herald had never been the type to make contact first, so she waited for them to take the word. It didn't take long before the dark knight pointed his massive ranseur towards her, exclaiming: _"Who are you, and why are you here?"_

The herald's answer came abruptly: "I am the Emerald Herald. I watch the town of Majula for the bypassing Cursed ones. Who are you?" The onyx knight seemed repulsed by her talking back, but this time the other man took the word: "My name is Targray. My company is a Dragonslayer of a long lost order. We have felt a strange surge coming from the Far East, and we are just passing by and resting till this thunderstorm passes. Are we welcome here?"

The Herald moved her gaze from knight to knight, before answering: "Make yourself comfortable. There is another man sitting by the obelisk up top if you want somebody to talk to. But please, leave me be." The one named Targray bowed.

"If your wish is to be left alone, then we shall avoid conversation." With that, he turned around and walked towards an empty shack.

The Dragonslayer stayed however. He eyed her for a second, not attempting to but still making the Herald uncomfortable, before walking over to where she stood. As lightning cracked and the sky lit up brightly, the Herald saw a longing in the Dragonslayer's eyes. He seemed to be looking after some long-lost father in the white paragons of the sky. Or lord, or king, just someone he once knew.

The Herald needed to ask: "What do you long for? Your stare makes you seem like you want to _touch_ the lightning."

The Dragonslayer was not silent for long: _"A few millennia ago, it was the lightning who stared after me."_

…

If the tall obelisk of Majula had eyes, it would see a dense smoke rising from Drangleic Castle. Darker than the sky around it, it rose as a warning to bypassing travelers, telling them: "Go back! Go back!"

However, if they had known the source of the smoke, they would not have needed the warning. A flaming abomination of a demon, swinging a sword larger than a full-grown man and wearing armor as dark as the smoke steaming off. It stood on one side of an arena.

On the other side stood the Mirror Knight. In all his years of fighting, reading and traveling, he had never a creature as horrifying as this one. The only part of it he could relate to was its lack of a face, in which's place was a hole, similar to the giants. What was _not_ relatable to the giants however, were the giant curved horns growing out from each side of its head. Oh, and its lack of a midsection, where a flaming inferno roared wildly. What had created this thing, must've been the God of Death itself.

The creature took a few steps towards the Looking Glass, eyeing him without eyes. The Mirror Knight stood tall as always, not allowing himself to be intimidated by the beast. Intimidation was the leading factor in combat. If you were neutral to your enemy, you had an immediate advantage. Were you cocky or brash, you would make a mistake. Were you intimated, you would never dare to do a mistake. Stay neutral, use what you've learned and outsmart the enemy. That was one of the things the Mirror Knight had practiced in his isolation.

Not that he ever thought that he would face something like this.

The creature was done admiring his armor, and charged in. The Mirror Knight allowed it to attack first, and blocked the incoming sword. Countering with a thrust, the demon grabbed the sword in its palm. It seemed to feel no pain from the stinging blade, wrenching and clawing to tear the sword from his grip. They wrestled for a short time, before the Mirror Knight summoned the lightning above. It struck immediately, traveling through his armor before electrocuting the demon. From its helm escaped a strange roar, before it withdrew its hand and took a few steps away from its foe.

_So you dislike lightning? You messed with the wrong knight then, _the Mirror Knight thought as he felt his ego rise slightly. He kept himself under control though, and summoned another wave of lightning to pulse through him.

This time however, the demon was not so intimidated. It bent down, and _speared_ the knight in his midsection. The armor held, and the Mirror Knight dropped his shield to grab hold of one of the demon's horns. He dug his foot into the ground, and used all his strength to stop the beast's berserker rage. Before he could cut it with his sword, it reared its head back, and its left empty left arm came for the Mirror Knight's helmet. It scratched across the face, making an excruciating as it did and disorienting the knight. He stumbled back, stone plates cracking under his reeling legs. He repositioned the helmet properly, and when his vision returned, so did the demon's sword… Now on fire.

Reacting purely on instinct, he swung his own sword. The blades collided, the considerably mightier strength of the demon immediately earning it an advantage. The Mirror Knight put both his hands on his hilt, and pushed back with all he could. Realizing that he losing the struggle, he did an unexpected move. He tossed his sword away. The demon was taken off-guard, if it could be, and the knight used its confusion to kick its own weapon from its hand. Both the blades made loud scrambling sounds as they slid across the wet stone in their arena.

Now, it was the Mirror Knight who charged. It grabbed hold of both the demon's spiked shoulders, and _buried_ his brow into the demon's face. It would not have been possible if his armor hadn't been as unbreakable as it was, but since it was, the demon reeled back. The Mirror Knight recovered the fastest, and went in for a kick. It connected with the monster's knee, but it stood strong. Its right claw came, and the Mirror Knight ducked under it. He dodged its follow-up swipe, and countered with a punch of his own. It connected square in the demon's chest. The Mirror Knight put all his weight behind his fist, and buried his hand even further into the plated solar plexus of the demon.

The demon stumbled, reeled… and fell. Stone cracked and grass was incinerated as the back of the demon met the earth, a loud roar escaping its mouth as it did. Its claw went for its chest, and when it removed it, the Mirror Knight saw that he had bulked the armor inwards. The demon however, made a quick recovery, and carried itself up again.

_I will not attack first this time either. Without its sword, it is just a predictable beast which needs to be tamed. FLAMING predictable beast which needs to be tamed. _The Mirror Knight was still uncertain of his victory as of yet, but only time would tell. Time, and how the demon would handle fighting unarmed.

…

The giant murmured to its friend as they climbed their way out of the Gutter. Their language, much too guttural and rough for humans to understand, consisted mostly of grunts and barks of sound from their holed faces. In human tongue, it would sound something like this: _"Do you think humans still reign supreme? We hid down there for a long time."_

"_I don't know," _came the answer. _"But maybe they are peaceful with us now? After all, it was _they_ who stole from us. We just tried to reclaim it. Any sentient being understands that."_

"_Yes, but we still look rather… intimidating to them. You think they will accept us as one of their own?"_

The other giant laughed harshly. _"As one of their own? HAH, no! But accept us? They better!"_

And then they both laughed, a deep and rumbling sound which scared even the citizens of the Gutter to their hidey-holes.

…

The Pursuer flew across the sky with his Great Eagle. The call in his mind told him to go one place: Drangleic Castle, and find the King. He had heard that the King had gone away underground to hide, just like any cowardly leader when his right to rule is threatened, but he did not know exactly where. He thought Drangleic Castle was a good place to start however.

Looking down, it seemed like many others had the same idea… or instinct. Hollows, knights, beasts and the worse all marched to the Castle's gates. Some had even reached it, the Pursuer spotting combat wherever he looked. He spotted a flat roof where it seemed quiet, and ordered his eagle: _Land there, at the silent platform. _The eagle, as always, obeyed him and sailed slowly across. The Pursuer tossed his sword down, and quickly followed himself.

Landing with a loud crash, which he was used to, he set his eyes on a door in front of him. The shadow of his helmet flashed red as he felt his hunting instincts take over. What he didn't notice in his lust for blood, was the statue behind him. It symbolized a giant elephant standing on its hind legs. It was coated in armor, and carried a giant shield and an equally massive halberd. On its side was a sheathed sword.

This statue, came alive. The Pursuer noticed too late, and he took a mighty swing to the back. His rough armor held, and he placed his feet to keep him from colliding with the wall he sailed towards. As his feet gently touched the marble, he felt his floating body stabilize. Turning around, he eyed his newly arrived opponent. The giant being did not intimidate the Pursuer, and he locked his gaze on the mastodon's helmet, testing it to a battle of wills. The mastodon cracked first, and swung its halberd for a lethal swipe.

The Pursuer raised his shield, and braced himself. The swing pushed him a few feet back, but it was not as dreadfully powerful he knew it could be. _This beast must have more in store._

The Pursuer decided to counter, and raised himself higher above the ground, before slashing at the mastodon's chestplate. The beast cleverly side-stepped it, and swung for the knight before he even landed. The Pursuer twisted himself to avoid it, and threw a swipe at the mastodon. It was but meant for intimidation, allowing himself to land safely.

The bigger one wouldn't allow the Pursuer to recover, and charged at him with its shield raised. The heavy plate collided with the ground, with power looking like it could split the Castle in two. Luckily it was built to hold these kinds of monsters. The slight shockwave knocked the floating Pursuer off balance, but the mastodon did not recover in time to follow up with a potentially lethal blow.

Both enemies eyeing each other now, they started circling. The Pursuer never letting his guard down, the mastodon never letting its halberd point anywhere but towards its foe.

The Pursuer was surprised by the speed of the monster. It moved faster than anything else of its size, at least which he had seen himself. It was swift, powerful, stable and made few mistakes. Maybe this was a-

He was interrupted by a great spear puncturing his back. Or spear, it was in fact an arrow shot from the greatbow of an Alonne knight Captain on another roof behind him. It had heard the thundering blow by the mastodon's shield, and come for its aid.

_It wasn't an attack, _the Pursuer thought angrily as he tore the arrow from his back. _It was a call._ The arrow hadn't gone far through the armor, but he still felt a hole in his skin. He had suffered worse though.

The Pursuer then attacked the mastodon again. He floated towards his enemy with rapid speed, the mastodon standing like bolted into the ground. When he was close enough, it thrust its halberd forth. It was dodged, and the Pursuer closed in further. The mastodon withdrew its weapon, and put his shield up to stop the knight's mad drive. The Pursuer kicked off the ground, sailing over the mastodon, and landing behind it. The mastodon was ready, and turned to face its foe.

_Good. Now I have him between me and the greatarcher._

The mastodon attacked first, and the halberd came down. The Pursuer sidestepped, and kicked for the monster's helmet. The shield stopped him, and he was pushed sideways by the sudden blow. He was put vulnerable to the archer, but he quickly hid behind the elephant's broad back again. The mastodon tried to step sideways to give the archer some room, but the Pursuer followed suit.

The mastodon refused to attack, the Pursuer didn't dare to, and so they just ended up in a dance of exposure. Could the mastodon outmaneuver the legendary Pursuer, and give the archer a clear shot? Would the archer take it anyway, and hit the mastodon? Would he be lucky and hit the Pursuer anyway?

The mastodon threw a few swipes to keep the Pursuer at bay, but none of them moved for the kill. If the mastodon attacked head on, he would have the Pursuer way to close, and his weapon would be useless. He didn't want to use his sword, as he would prefer to keep his foe at a distance when the archer fired. But he had one trick up his sleeve.

The mastodon stopped its hopeless sidewalking, and slammed its shield into the ground. It did this three times, before raising its snout and exuding a loud call. It said: "All mastodons and knights not at post, come to me!"

The Pursuer only heard a snort, a loud one, and watched amused as the mastodon entered its previous stance again. He had no idea what was happening, so he thought that it had been a show of rage. _Yes, dumb creature. Even with your archer, you cannot hope to defeat me. I will outmaneuver your slow bulk, never letting the archer get a good shot at me. What happens when he takes the shot? YOU will-_

The door behind the mastodon blasted open, and in stormed three syan knights. They all took up positions around the mastodon, all keeping a vary eye on the floating knight.

The latter knight's mind was racing. _If I could barely beat the monster by itself, how will I handle this? The archer needs to go first, then I need to pick off the smaller knights. If I get a good chance on the big one I might try to get him. But there might also be more coming… _

_My Great Eagle, come to me!_ He called for his pet. This was a battle that he would lose if he dragged it out, so he needed a quick escape in case something goes wrong. The Eagle answered: _My master, I shall fly under the edge behind you. Jump when I call you!_

The Pursuer approved, and readied for combat. _Unless I can kill these bastards first! _

And then he charged. He went straight for the mastodon, before kicking off the ground in his previous fashion, and sailing over it. It tried to swipe him, but missed, and the Pursuer landed harmlessly. Immediately setting off towards the archer, he readied his sword to cleave the knight in half. The archer threw away his bow, and drew his sword. However, he did the mistake of trying to cleave the incoming Pursuer, and his sword bounced harmlessly off the silver knight's shield. The Pursuer's sword however, connected with the archer's neck, and severed his head from its body.

Satisfied, the Pursuer turned to see the other Syan knights climbing to the higher ground he was on. One of them was too slow, and received his cursed sword through the chest. He immediately fell down, dead. The second and third were faster, and both of them cleaved for the Pursuer's hips. He jumped back, and immediately charged in again. He bashed one of the knights with his shield, and tried to cleave the other. His swing was knocked to the side, and the Pursuer used the momentum to twirl himself around and stab the knight who was still recovering from his shield bash.

The other knight sliced for the Pursuer's vulnerable arm, and a small grunt escaped the silver knight as the blade sliced through his armor then skin. Blood immediately left the cut, coloring the blade and armor red. It seemed however, that the knight had trouble prying his blade loose, and the Pursuer used this opportunity to plant both his legs into the knight's chest. No scream escaping him as he tumbled off the roof and into the chasm below.

Then the Pursuer took a much more agonizing blow. The mastodon had made its way to the edge of the roof the Pursuer was on, and thrust its halberd into his exposed back. The power of this blow was tremendous, and the already weakened armor on his back was completely torn as the halberd plunged itself into his chest. This time it went completely through, and exited on the other side.

…

The Mirror Knight braced as the demon charged into him once again. Its head was just about to collide with his midsection when he put both his arms on its horns. This effectively stopped the demon's drive, but the Mirror Knight did not let it stop completely. Instead he threw the demon's head sideways, throwing it off balance, before lunging after himself. Placing it in a headlock, he landed on the demon's back, and they both crashed into the floor. The demon struggled to get out of the Mirror Knight's lock, but its energy rapidly faded.

After tiring the demon out, the Mirror Knight prepared his next move. He rose, still pinning the demon down with his knee, and put his left hand on the bottom of its spine. His right hand found the top edge of its chestplate. He removed his knee, and tensed all his muscles, before _lifting_ the demon off the ground. He put it above his head, and bent his elbows to stabilize the weight. If someone had seen it, they wouldn't have believed it, as the Mirror Knight of Legend turned around and _threw_ the beast which slayed the Old Iron King in one swing, into one of the few pillars still standing in the arena.

The Smelter Demon let out a hurt growl as its body collided with the standing pillar, knocking it over, landing on it, breaking it into pieces, sliding through multiple laying pillars, before digging its claws into the ground and stopping its tenacious drive.

The Mirror Knight allowed himself no rest, and walked over to the spot the demon had collided. Was it dead? He didn't think so. It would take more to kill a demon. The better question was: Was it hurt? He thought it must be. Demon, devil, god or any deity would be hurt from a blow like that.

His answer came in the form of a stone pillar. And said stone pillar came flying out of the dust. He barely caught it as it closed in on his face, and threw it aside. When his vision came back to the dust, he saw the demon come charging at him once again, now missing a horn and other pieces of armor. This time it held a pillar held under its arm, like a makeshift lance. He couldn't react quickly enough, and the thick pole crashed into his chest. Several feet he flew before finally colliding with the floor, his slide ending as he dug his hands into the ground.

Getting up, he saw the demon come at him again. This time however, he was ready. He dug his heels into the ground, braced, and caught the pillar with his hands. He had a better grip than the demon, and tossed the stone piece aside. The demon did the mistake of holding on to it, and received a kick in the face for it. The Mirror Knight relentlessly assaulted the monster with flurries of punches and kicks, sending it reeling further back with every landed attack. He got so caught up in attacking that he forgot to defend, and when the demon saw its opening, it smacked the Mirror Knight with the pillar it refused to let go off.

The hit wasn't powerful enough to send him flying again, but he still reeled from the power of the hit. He ignored the pain in his nose as best as he could, and quickly locked his eyes on the demon again. He readied for another hit from the pillar, but it never came. Instead the demon stood still, as if being deactivated in some way. Maybe-

And then the Mirror Knight took a club to the back. He stumbled forward, and received a pillar in the back. He was now, for the first time in forever, knocked down into the floor. His second attacker jumped onto him, and the Mirror Knight felt that it was not humanoid. It actually seemed to have three legs. Or two and one arm.

Despite the power of both his attacker's hits, the armor of the knight had saved him from most damage. As the creature on top of him readied another attack, he twisted himself around, and gave it an elbow. It connected with its face, knocking it off. The Smelter Demon received a punch in the knee, knocking it down. The Mirror Knight rose, and gave the demon a solid knee in the face.

With one foe down, he turned to his recently arrived enemy. What met him was a dreadful monster, even uglier than the demon. Its entire body was green and mucky looking, with a morphed face which had small goat-like horns protruding from the sides of the jaw. Its entire hunched back had spikes protruding from it and a tail stood out at the bottom. At the end of the tail was a maul which looked like it could even dent the Mirror Knight's armor. It walked like an ape, despite not using one of its arms.

It was undoubtedly one of Aldia's experiments.

The beast attacked, and tried to swipe the Mirror Knight with its arm. It missed blankly, and the Mirror Knight closed the distance between them. The beast tried to keep him away by attacking with its tail, and he grabbed the thing with both his arms. He pulled and reeled the thing in, before placing a boot in the monster's face. The momentum from the pull coupled with the force of the kick knocked the monster down on its front, and another quick kick dazed the monster completely. The Mirror Knight looked for his sword, found it, picked it up, lifted it to finish the beast, and-

-he hadn't been quick enough, and the creature smacked him in the side with its tail. The lack of momentum in the beast's body made the hit lack force, but it was still enough to send the knight sliding. The Mirror Knight saw his shield lying mere feet away from him, but as he moved to pick it up, the beast had already gathered itself, and it leaped for him. Now that he had a weapon, he slashed across the creature's face, sending it tumbling to the side and making it release a pained growl. He decided not to finish it, and picked up his shield instead.

_Finally, we are reunited again,_ he thought with a smile as he inspected the flawless plate of glass. He was not allowed to linger on it for long, as the smelter demon had now recovered from its beatdown. It picked up its sword, and with a warcry of another world, it set out for the Mirror Knight's life. Its swing came early, and he easily backstepped it. The enraged monster kept the offense going, and followed up with a backhanded swipe. The Mirror Knight blocked this one, and he followed up with a thrust from behind his shield. It penetrated the weakened chest armor of the demon, but seemed to cause it no harm. He withdrew, and shield bashed the monster back.

The wounded monster didn't have enough power left to recover for his follow-up attack, and it only reached looking up before his lightning-infused blade cut into its shoulder. It fell down to one knee, a pained scream escaping its helmet. However, before the Mirror Knight could finish the demon, the second creature swung its malevolent tail into his back. He stumbled from the blow, and the monster jumped onto his back. It locked both its legs around him, and used its arms to beat and batter the Mirror Knight's chest. The Mirror Knight had enough trouble with standing upright, and was unable to keep his balance when the recovered smelter demon kicked him in the chest.

He stumbled back, but just before he fell, he balanced himself on his shield. When the demon closed in again, he slashed across its face, sending it back again. He shook and threw himself around to try and shake the monster on his back, but it wasn't letting go so easily. It tried to pull the knight down, but he was just as stubborn as the creature was, and when the monster's grip finally slid on his wet armor, he threw himself around and managed to stab it in the ribs.

A scream louder than any of the other ones escaped its lungs as the Mirror Knight summoned lightning into the sword. It pulsed and travelled through the entire body of the beast, and the scream grew louder. It tried to batter at his arm to make him let go, but the Mirror Knight held on for dear life. When the screaming finally stopped, the Mirror Knight pulled the sword out, and he fell forward to one knee. He could finally relax after beating one of his opponents.

He suddenly became wary that the smelter demon had not attacked yet, and looked up. There it was standing, sword at the side, flames still burning in its midsection, armor still battered. Despite its weakened state, it refused to give up, which confused the Mirror Knight. _What is it that these things want that drive them so far? Beasts normally kill on instinct, but these things are driven. _

He decided to ponder on it when he had slain the demon, and put his shield and sword up. The smelter demon answered by… plunging its sword into its flaming midsection. No sound of pain, no sound at all came from the creature, until it pulled its sword out again, now on fire, and charged at the Mirror Knight with a crazed yell.

The knight attacked first, and thrust his sword forward. The demon took it, and used its free hand to smack his shield away, before slashing downwards on the Mirror Knight. He had no choice but to let go of his stuck sword, so he did and twisted around the incoming swing. He grabbed hold of the smelter demon's sword-hand, and bashed the edge of his shield into its wrist. The armor bent inwards, and a black ash-like substance started to cover the area. No scream escaped the demon this time, but it did let go of its sword. The Mirror Knight quickly grabbed hold of it, and-

-thrust it into the demon's face. Sword entered in front, exited out back, still aflame. The demon stood for a few more seconds, before falling to the ground, finally dead.

* * *

_Kept you waiting, huh?_


	5. Chapter 5: What is your name?

The Pursuer slayed the last Syan knight with a swift cut of his gargantuan blade. The golden knight fell slowly to the floor, his last breath leaving him as his sight slowly faded. Then he was dead, just like the others who had dared to stand against the might of the Pursuer.

The mastodon was dead, the syan knights were dead and the greatarcher was dead. All five, great warriors of a strong king, laid sprawled out on the floor, blood leaking from various spots and coloring their otherwise golden armor red. The Pursuer had not won easily though. His entire armor was bent and scarred from fighting the mastodon, and a giant hole penetrated his back, which went straight through him and out on the other side. Had he been a human, he would've long succumbed to his wounds.

Of course, the Pursuer was no man. Some had learned that the easy way, through books or scrolls originating from his infamy. Others had not been so lucky.

The Pursuer started to work his way through the castle under siege, not floating, not elegantly walking, just limping forwards like a machine. However despite how weakened he may have looked, there had never been a worse time to encounter him at. A beast was always most dangerous when threatened, wounded or cornered.

The Pursuer was all those things, just in a much scarier package.

* * *

The Mirror Knight bent down and thrust his sword into the ground, panting and nearly vomiting after his fight with the demon of hell. The abomination duo had required all his energy to keep at bay, and he found a little more to kill them. However, now that the adrenaline had escaped his body, he felt how exhausted and battered he really was. His armor was a gift from heaven, as without it he would've been a pulp a long time ago. Nevertheless, even through all the beating and battering forces it had met, not a dent was made on it. Sure, a few scratches from the ape-like creature and demon's claws donned the upper body and helmet of the armor, but no immediate damage or danger to its structure shined through.

However the Mirror Knight knew that despite its resilience, his armor was at the weakest point it had ever been, just like himself. He had never faced stronger resistance than he had faced the last few days. In fact, this was his first time to rest since it all started. He had faced hollows, demons, hounds and some creatures which didn't remind him of anything, all which came in a string of combat. Hollows were easy matches, but when something bigger like a demon came along, the Mirror Knight needed to use all his experience to minimize damage done to him, while being as efficient as possible in dishing out damage.

_See a wounded opponent? Let him go. He is little to no threat and won't be able to damage_ _me or my armor efficiently. _

_See a demon or otherwise dangerous foe? Take out the 'minions' before engaging it, never go straight for a force which can keep you distracted while his smaller allies work on penetrating my armor._

_See a coordinated group? Watch their captain, find his style, know your counter. My armor needs to sustain as little as possible damage at this point, so find a way to eliminate the legion as quick as possible. Use lightning, ALWAYS use lightning. Fear is my biggest ally. _

Whilst the Mirror Knight pondered on various strategies, he started to think on why all these enemies were against him. Naturally he was a blockade in their path, but demons were infamous for attacking on sight, not to make allies. The last thing they would party with would be hollows, but here they all were.

The only thing demons would travel with would be other demons. But hollows?! It bothered the Mirror Knight to such a degree that he forgot what he was doing here on his post: guarding the passage. And because of his racing thoughts he didn't notice his next opponent before it stepped through the gate to his stone circle.

The Mirror Knight turned, put his eyes on his new enemy, and…

The Pursuer dropped the twitching Syan knight on the end of his blade, and pointed the sword in the Mirror Knight's direction, a blue aura pulsating through it as he did.

* * *

The Old Dragonslayer sat down on a big boulder in the still-raining Majula, placing his spear beside him as he did. He started to ponder on his past. _Why am I here? _He thought. _What made me end up here? It all felt so… forced. Undead speak of being allured to this place by unknown instincts, but I was _brought_ here. I felt it. Someone here spoke to me, some ancient force of nature brought me here. It was like a voice…_

_When I 'died' from my partner's hammer, cursed be his name, some voice spoke to me. It told me that I had made a promise, and that I would keep it. It seemed happy to be able to speak with me, like it couldn't before. Maybe it was a Death God's voice? It was definitely male, and it seemed so that it could only speak to me while dead. Maybe it was the Gravelord himself referring to me. _

He laughed at that thought. First off all, the Gravelord would never refer himself to another being he considered inferior. Not that Nito had ever been brash or hostile to other gods or their servants, but a realist he was. Those he saw as lesserly ranked, he considered lesserly ranked. Therefore he would never be so direct. Second of all, why would he lead him here? Nito had no relation to this place as far as the Dragonslayer knew, and therefore there was no reason for him to guide him here.

But there was one factor which concluded that it hadn't been the Gravelord, nor any other from the land of Lordran. The voice had come from _here_. This land, this kingdom, somewhere to the east. The voice hadn't pursued him here, it had _drawn_ him here. It pulled him like it had a rope tied around his neck, and even if he sometimes tried to persuade himself to turn away from the alien voice, the rope tightened, and he found himself forced to continue.

Eventually he had ended up at this strange city in the ocean. It had remarkably reminded him of Anor Londo, and much of the decoration and style almost seemed _copied_ from the City of the Gods. The only part which seemed different was the tall tower of flaming inferno in the center of it all. He guessed that it was there to guide sailing merchant boats from or to the city.

Despite the reminiscence of Anor Londo, it lacked the… "muscle" of the city. The Old Dragonslayer remembered having met the King of the city, a strong and fast leader with the willpower of a hundred men, and getting a really good impression of the city. However, that impression faded when he met the garrison. It mainly consisted of knights clad in white armor, with cloaks and other decoration to show their rank. The Old Dragonslayer thought that looks could lie, but the battling skills of the knights matched their pompousness. He had fought them all, one by one, then two on one, and then he ended it at ten against one… He didn't lose any of the fights.

Dissapointed, he offered the King to be his battlefied commander and trainer. The King obviously accepted him into the army, and the knights' skill in combat improved massively. The Dragonslayer put them through bone-hard training in full armor, made them push themselves till their bones ached and they were almost dying by lack of air, and generally put them through a course they had never experienced before. Their sparring was even worse, the Dragonslayer causing massive amounts of injuries by making them use real weapons. None died, luckily, but they were beaten to mere inches of their life.

But the result was terrific. Throughout all the battles they fought in the following years, all led by the Dragonslayer himself, almost none were lost. The knights' hard training and practice of discipline made them into almost indestructible fighters. They improved from barely being able to win a battle in which they outnumbered the enemy, to the point where one knight could beat down an entire squad.

The Knights of Heide, thanks to Dragonslayer Ornstein, became feared across the entire continent. Even across the sea the news spread about a newly arising kingdom, and Heide's excellent economy caused it to flurish with income. In the end, no citizen of Heide walked poor, and those who needed help got it.

All thanks to the Dragonslayer who had lost everything. However, with this rebuilt kingdom, he had felt the gaping hole inside him shrink considerably. He could almost live happy again for all those years…

But then came a force they could not win against. The Dragonslayer had often advised the King to built the Kingdom out onto the mainland due to its vulnerable position in the middle of the ocean's maw, but the King feared that the trade from the allied ships would shrink if he did. The Old Dragonslayer could not convince him, so when Mother Nature made her move… the city was left with few citizens, almost none of the garrison, and no King.

A furious storm was all it took for a massive tidal wave to wipe out almost the entire city. Only a few ruins remained after the strike, the rest had lost their structure and sunken into the sea. The Dragonslayer remembered trying to evacuate as many as he could before the wave struck. He remembered horrified faces, children crying, men following him with their families behind them, all desperately looking for his advice. Of the 1000 people he brought into the city's cathedral… two survived. Him and Targray.

The memories still haunted his dreams. Right there and then, he was reminded of the human's greatest weakness: fear. When the cathedral was flooded he had kept his cool and swimmed outside to reach sea-level, but the humans were so scarred they all tried to swim to the top of the cathedral and break the windows. It was impossible to break the thick glass for their tired hands, and within a minute they were all dead.

That was when Ornstein looked to the skies and yelled at whatever up there: _"Have you no mercy?! Mother Nature, cursed be your name, and all Gods out there for letting these innocents die! There were families, children and their parents, and their love was wiped out by YOU! They prayed to you! They offered gifts to you! AND THIS IF HOW YOU BETRAY THEM?!"_ He cursed his own body for being so powerful, and he wished he had drowned with the poor people.

For the second time, Dragonslayer Ornstein had seen his beloved Kingdom crumble to a force of nature. Once by a disease, the second time by the ocean. And that is when Dark almost got a grip on him.

Long ago, he had a close fight with another knight he knew well. This knight had been tainted by the Abyss, and once during a fit of rage, he unleashed it on Anor Londo. Ornstein stood in the way of its spread, and he had a mental fight the black surge. He barely won, but he knew there and still knows now, the Abyss never quite _leaves_. It clings onto you with the smallest spark it has, and never lets go. Ornstein beat the Abyss on his own, and as such he knew he was corrupted.

And when his rage got the better of him after Heide's flooding, the Dark made its move. It grasped for his soul while Ornstein was still in the water, and tried to corrupt and torment his mind. Ornstein felt himself sink as he fought back, until his back collided with the cathedral's sunken roof. There he lied, while water filled his helmet, dark corrupted him, and he almost praised the gods for granting him death.

And then he realised something: He was _Dragonslayer Ornstein!_ Leader of the Lord of Sunlight's elite knights, captain of two cities' garrisons and a picture all aspiring knights looked up to. He _refused_ to embrace death, he _denied_ being corrupted, and he _was_ going to survive.

So, he started by taking control of his own body, and swimming towards the ocean's edge. He used half of his strength to fight the Dark, and half to fight his aching muscles. After something that felt like a year, his hands and feet hit the shore, and he collapsed on a giant rock. To bypassers he would've looked like he was dead, but his mind was fully awake and racing to battle the Dark.

In the time he used to swim back to the mainland, the Abyss had already gotten a good grip on his soul, so when he activated his lightning abilities to shield his mind, he found that it was already taken. So instead of attemtping to repel it, he _consumed_ the Dark. He didn't let it take him by force, he led it into him. It was a huge gamble, but when the Dark had reached the deepest parts of his mind, he attacked it with all his feelings and memories. The Dark couldn't corrupt it all at once, so when it tried to, it was thinned out, like stretched butter on a piece of bread.

And then it was Ornstein's turn to attack. He wrestled the Dark from its own grip, and planted it inside the most focused part of his mind. And then, Dragonslayer Ornstein had not only defeated the Dark… He had conquered it. He had occupied the Dark, and was now controlling it. He had not refused the Dark, but accepted it. The Abyss had been too greedy when trying to occupy Ornstein's mind, so it stretched itself too far inside him, and was instantly counter-occupied by the Dragonslayer's strong will.

However, as always it came at a price. He found out when he faced a drake later. On his way back to the sunken Heide (he didn't feel like swimming again), he encountered a red shadow of the Dragons. He had quite easily defeated it, but when he was planning to finish it, lightning did not exude from his spear; Dark did. A long line of pure Dark escaped his ranseur and corrupted the drake's mind and body, withering its skin till it was only a rotting skeleton.

That was the price Ornstein had to pay. To live, he had changed out a power he had endured with like it was his very own family. The lightning wasn't something he wielded, it was a very part of him. One of the building stones inside his body. Without it, his structure would fall, and Ornstein would become someone else. That was the price he paid.

But he still did. He lived for his dead people, his dethroned Kings, his extinguished lightning, and his fallen Kingdoms, Heide and Anor Londo. That is why he endured, and that is why he pressed on.

Because he was the only one who could.

* * *

Targray stepped outside the shack he had situated himself in, and looked into the pouring rain around him. It had started to rain even more now, so the carpet of falling water was even more dense than it had previously been. Before he could at least see the entire town, but now he could barely see the monument on top of the hill beside him. He noticed the knight sitting there, and remembered the hooded girl mentioning him. He decided to have a chat with him.

He walked around to the path leading up the hill, and while approaching the man, he saw that he was no regular vagabond. In fact, he had armor of considerable rank on him, showcasing that he must've once been a great warrior. His sword lay beside him. It was a fairly ordinary bastard sword, with a long hilt and a broad cross guard.

"Hail, friend," Targray called out. The sitting knight looked up from his thoughts, and raised his hand to greet. He had a tired and worn look on his face, with a stubble which hadn't been shaved in a while. His only well kempt feature was his hair, which was finely shaved and straightened. Targray assumed the knife strapped to his chest was responsible for his well preserved looks.

"Hail. Who are you?" said the knight with a raspy and tired voice. He didn't seem like he had spoken in a while.

"The name is Blue Sentinel Targray, friend. Yours?"

"Blue Apostle Saulden, sir. I guess I should refer to you as my superior now."

"Just because you can call on me for help? Hah, in these dire times there is no shame in proclaiming faith in actually living help, rather than 'Gods' who don't do jack to help the world when it falls into chaos."

Saulden smiled, which seemed to be a rare occurrence. "I thank you for your kind words, but a knight of my rank shouldn't have to call upon help." He put up his hand to show Targray his Blue Seal. "I might need it, but through all my years in knighthood I should be proud enough of myself to not have to receive assistance."

He put both his hands on his forehead again, and leaned forward into his previous position. Targray sat down beside him. He decided to change the subject, since this clearly bothered Saulden. "How long have you been a knight then, my good sir?"

Saulden didn't look up when answering. "Twentytwo years."

Targray looked surprised. "So precise?"

Saulden nodded. Targray continued: "Then you have better memory than most of us."

"I can't lose much when there is not much to forget. In the last six years I've been sitting here. My undeath allows me to without having to eat, drink or sleep, so I do only to keep in shape. So again, there is not much to forget."

"What is your name?" Targray asked suddenly.

The crestfallen one turned to him, a serious frown donning his face. "Saulden."

"What is your name?" asked Targray again.

"Saulden."

"What is your name?"

"Saulden!"

"What is your name?"

"Sauldron. No, I mean Saulden!"

"What, is your, name?"

"Saulden!"

Targray looked to him. "You refuse to forget, don't you?" Saulden raised his eyebrows, then frowned again in anger. "Did you just… just…?"

"I'm so sorry," said Targray, before standing up and leaving.

"HEY!" Saulden shouted after him. Targray turned and looked questionably at him.

"What is your name?" Saulden asked.

The Blue Sentinel was perplexed. What was his name? What was his name?! He started to panic. _Have I forgotten it?! Please don't tell me I've forgotten my name!_

He looked at Saulden and screamed: "WHAT IS MY NAME?!"

The crestfallen one smiled. "Blue Sentinel Targray." He then sat down, and left Targray to his thoughts. Targray on the other hand, was furious that his own game had backfired.

And that he almost had lost himself.

* * *

The Old Dragonslayer rose abruptly. Something was penetrating his mind again. Not the Dark, but… a voice. The same voice which led him here. He resisted it at first, but even the Dark could not resist the power in this voice.

After it had wrestled with his mind and aquired control of him, it spoke softly: _"Why resist? Do you think I mean you any harm?"_

Ornstein didn't know how to answer, so he only stood silenced. _"Relax, put your mind to rest. I am but here to deliver a message."_ Ornstein didn't really have a choice, and since this voice had full control over him, he assumed it would have torn him apart if it wanted to.

"_Point your eyes to the east. See that rising tower in the distance? An obelisk of black?" _Even through the dense rain, Ornstein did very well. Mostly due to the fires and smoke rising around it. He knew that it was Drangleic Castle, and that the Old King rested there. _"Go there. Find the King. By his direction, you can reach me. And I have all the answers you need and want." _Ornstein wanted to recoil, but his body was still locked in place. Did this power have all answers? About the Gods, the curse, the Dark even? If it had, he needed to find it.

"_I feel your eagerness, but first I must tell you something. In your path, a major blockade will stand in your way. A knight of power which might even pass yours he is, and to pass him, you will have to join him. No matter which path you take, he guards the only way to the King. He _will_ be a blockade, and you will have to face him. But he is sane, and smart, so don't try to trick him. Make him your ally."_

Then the voice dissapeared. It left even more abruptly than it had appeared, and Ornstein was once again left with the company of only his own thoughts. He had already decided to trust the voice, since despite its power, it had done only things to help him. It must've been a God or something of similar power to be able to penetrate his mind and speak to him like this.

Turning around, Ornstein was about to call on Targray, but he stopped himself. The smoke and fires around the castle more than hinted at great danger, and then it was the "obstacle" he was going to face. Targray was a good man, and he did not deserve to die a dreadful death.

So Ornstein left, spear dragging behind him, while his armor clinked and clunked as he made his way towards Drangleic Castle, towards his opponent, towards his possible death.

But most of all, towards _answers_.


	6. Chapter 6

The Mirror Knight slowly rose from his kneeling position, eyeing his newly arrived opponent as he did. He had silver, all-covering armor, with a shield to match and a colossal sword in his right hand, which still emanated that eerie blue glow. The flashing lightning made the picture even more sinister.

The Pursuer was as intimidating as they say, only not as… proud. Actually, he seemed rather weakened. His back was hunched, and his armor had scars and dents all around it. A giant hole went through his back and out his front, which seemed to have been caused by a mastodon's greathalberd.

_Good, _thought the Mirror Knight. _Fighting him at his best right now would probably get me killed. I don't feel so good myself._ He looked at his battered armor again. While not as clearly harassed as the Pursuer's armor, it was still not in very good shape.

He turned his eyes back to the Pursuer again, and tried to think of a good combat stance against him. He decided to use his own one until he learned more about the Pursuer's combat style. A human wielding a sword and shield of that size would've been easy to read, but the Pursuer was a completely different beast. He would be treating the weapon like any other sword, and his shield would be an upscaled version of a human's buckler in his hands.

So therefore, he waited. He waited to see what the Pursuer would do, whilst trying to calm his tensed body. He would've admitted it anytime: This was the first time in over a millenia that the Mirror Knight had felt actual _fear._ The flaming demon he had slain was intimidating at first, but it was just another monster that needed taming. This however, was the _Pursuer_. One missed swing, the Pursuer would counter with a deadly thrust of his own. A miss-timed block, the Pursuer would manuever around and attack his flank. The main difference between the demon and the Pursuer: The demon allowed mistakes, the Pursuer did not.

And that is what the Mirror Knight needed to remember. He needed to forget his fear, and instead concentrate on not doing mistakes. Never block to early, never drop your guard, always know where he is and always keep your muscles tensed. That was what the Mirror Knight needed to remember.

And then the Pursuer started to limp towards the Mirror Knight. His right foot kicked off behind while his left foot slid across the ground, while he kept his shield up and his sword over his shoulder. He eyed the Mirror Knight from his sinister helmet. A red glow escaped it as he thought: _Leap._

The Pursuer stopped his drive, and put both his soles on the ground. He looked down, tensed, and _leaped_ into the air, before sailing towards the Mirror Knight, sword raised for a deadly thrust.

_Too early,_ thought the Mirror Knight, as he had seen this move before, and when the Pursuer was close enough he lunged out with his sword, catching the incoming Pursuer in the side. The Pursuer put his shield up to block, and landed it successfully as he was thrown sideways and landed heavily on his legs. He felt a slight pain flair up in his back as he did.

The Mirror Knight decided to keep up the offensive, and quickly charged the Pursuer before slashing for his crouched form. The Pursuer rolled under the swing, before recovering and catching the next one on his shield. He let the Mirror Knight rest his sword on the silver plate, and countered with a thrust under his guard. The sword collided with the edge of the Looking Glass, and the knight pushed the sword aside.

The Pursuer decided to counter with his own offence, and pushed the still-resting Mirror Knight's greatsword aside before launching into a flurry of stabs and slashes. The Mirror Knight backpedaled the first swings, before catching his next thrust on his shield, but couldn't counter before the Pursuer utilized the momentum of the Mirror Knight's block to twirl himself around and slash for the silver mastodon's unguarded left knee.

The Mirror Knight couldn't manuever his shield in time to intercept the swing, so instead he used his sword to shield the attack. The blades collided, and the Looking Glass pushed his opponent's sword away before slashing for his head. The Pursuer was quick to recover however, and just as the swing was about to connect he ducked under, and stepped back to recover from the skirmish.

The Mirror Knight relaxed when he saw the Pursuer step away, and let his sword hang down along his side while placing his shield into the ground. They said nothing to each other, they just recovered their lost breath. None of them could fight to their maximum strain due to their wounds and tiredness, but they were still stronger than any human or demon the Mirror Knight had ever met. Despite his… rough reputation, the Mirror Knight found respect for the Pursuer within his heart. Despite his wounds, his resilience kept him going, and even now while facing an equal opponent, he still wouldn't give up.

The Mirror Knight didn't know the Pursuer, he was glad for that, but devotion of that kind always deserved respect.

And then the Pursuer charged again. He picked himself up and sprinted towards the Mirror Knight, now seemingly oblivious of his own wounds. He lifted his sword for a deadly slash, the Mirror Knight barely avoiding the blow by taking a careful step back. He calmed himself, and readied for the Pursuer's next attack, which came in the form of a shield bash. The bash caught the Mirror Knight's shield, which knocked it aside and pushed the Mirror Knight himself out of balance. The Pursuer, seeing his opponent's momenteral stagger, leaped into the air, twirled himself around, before slashing towards the Mirror Knight's chest. The Mirror Knight recovered, saw the incoming attack, and ran under his opponent flying form, spinning around to see the Pursuer land… and never land.

A foot or two the Pursuer was over the ground before his downward momentum suddenly stopped, and he instead sailed forward. His foot never touched the ground.

_So there is his strange floating that many people have spoken of. I guess the Pursuer is like me in a way; combat is his best medicine._

The Mirror Knight refused to be intimidated, and took the Pursuer off guard by leaping up in the air with an attack of his own. His sword came down, and the Pursuer floated around to his back, successfully dodging the attack, before flying back in to attack the Mirror Knight's vulnerable back. The Mirror Knight surprised him by putting a boot to his chest, and kicking him back. The Pursuer staggered after the push, and the Mirror Knight saw that despite his floating form, he seemed to only be able to keep in balance while upright, lest he would stumble in whatever direction he put too much weight on.

This relieved the Mirror Knight, as fighting a skilled opponent which didn't need to mind his balance would be a pure nightmare. Perhaps he could exploit it…

He didn't reach thinking any longer, as the Pursuer charged back in. The Mirror Knight tried to catch him in the side, but when the Pursuer manuevered himself to block it, he switched stances and spinned his body around to slash the Pursuer's vulnerable flank. The Pursuer barely reached re-directing himself to block it, but the sheer force sent him reeling backwards. The Mirror Knight was relentlessly charged his sword with lightning, and set off towards the staggering Pursuer.

The Knight of Alken sailed under the Mirror Knight's diagonal swing, and charged his own weapon with his own deadly power. The Mirror Knight only reached turning his head before the blade was thrust into his side.

Pain. Agonizing, cruel and relentless pain shot up his back as for the first time in man's history, the Mirror Knight's reputed armor gave away to the Pursuer's mighty blade. The Mirror Knight felt his legs give away, and he fell to one knee, dropping his shield in the process. The pain almost covered over the feeling of the Pursuer's curse as it started to kick in. It spread through his abdomen, to his chest, to his soul, where it-

-stopped. The Mirror Knight had readied for the curse to overtake him completely, but he was surprised when he felt his own soul fight back. The curse of the Pursuer could seemingly only affect those without a powerful soul, which the Mirror Knight here demonstrated so well.

The Pursuer was shocked to see that his curse had failed, and he looked the Mirror Knight face to face as he exclaimed simply: _"How?"_

The Mirror Knight felt courage fill him as the Pursuer's courage left him. He bit through the pain, rose up to his full height, towering far above the Pursuer. The lightning had seemed to stop flashing just for the picture of the rising knight to become even more imposing.

"_Your curse can only affect men." _The Mirror Knight felt a slight rage hit him. He grabbed the Pursuer's sword by the blade. Just as lightning flashed again, he exclaimed: _"And I am no man!" _And then the Looking Glass tore the sword out of his body, ignoring the flaring pain, and threw the Pursuer back. The Knight of Alken was still so surprised that he crashed straight into the floor as he landed, rolling a few times before finally thrusting his blade into the ground, effectively stopping him.

_Curse or not, I must still beat this ma-... knight, _he thought, watching the imposing Mirror Knight rise and pick up his shield. _He is but one enemy. I have fought hundreds through my years, how powerful can he be? He already has a wound, like me, so now that we're on even ground I must be able to kill him…_

He put his shield up, pointing his sword out under it, still floating in place. _I will beat him. I MUST!_

And then the Pursuer flew towards the stationary Mirror Knight, thrusting his sword out as he did. The Mirror Knight waited till the last second before raising his shield, effectively blocking it, and feigning a counter thrust. The Pursuer did not fall for it, and the moment the Mirror Knight withdrew his arm, he pulled his shield back and bashed the tall knight in the side. He stumbled back, and the Pursuer assaulted him with a flurry of stabs. The Mirror Knight knocked one aside, sidestepped another, anticipated the third delayed one, and the moment it came he charged forth and took it on the edge of his shield. The Pursuer felt his grip on his sword loosen slightly, but quickly tightened it again, before dodging an attempted kick from the Mirror Knight. He spun himself around the his foot, attempting to counter with a slash, but it was blocked by the Mirror Knight, who proceeded to push the Pursuer back with his shield.

The Pursuer, realising close combat was not an option, started to skate around the edge of the stone circle. The Mirror Knight placed himself in the middle, lifted his sword to the skies, and summoned a bolt of lightning to strike him. The sword was imbued, he lifted his to guard himself, and he stood like this until the Pursuer decided to make his move.

When he did, he quickly flew in try and trick the Mirror Knight, before quickly backing out again. The Mirror Knight tensed himself, but that was all. The Pursuer, slightly angered his trick didn't work, started to circle again.

_If he tries the same move again, I'll charge after when he backs out. Perhaps I can overwhelm him, _the Mirror Knight thought as he watched the floating Pursuer continue his stalemate.

The Pursuer decided to not drag it out any longer, and charged back in. The Mirror Knight held his ground, waiting patiently, until the Pursuer was within range. When he was, swiped his sword in a wide arc, launching lightning in every direction. The Pursuer leaped into the air, avoiding one bolt, dodged another, swatted aside one, blocked one, looked over his shield to survey the Mirror Knight as he sailed over the silver knight, blocked his attempted swipe, before finally landing steadily on his legs. He quickly turned around, and barely reached raising his shield to block a broad swing from the Mirror Knight's crackling sword. The lightning penetrated his shield mildly, but not enough to stun him.

The Mirror Knight, noticing he had the Pursuer on his toes, pressed the attack, launching flurries of swings, stabs and swipes. He noticed the Pursuer blocking the first one, then attempting to make a counterattack, but his sword came too slow, and he was forced on the defensive again. He steadily blocked and dodged all of the Mirror Knight's attacks, but found no opening to counter. Everytime he threw his sword forward it always bounced off the Mirror Knight's resilient armor, his attacks lacking the power needed to penetrate the thick plate.

However, that changed when the Mirror Knight became slightly reckless in his assault. His sword thrust forward, going straight for the Pursuer's head. Despite that it looked like a dangerous attack, it was very predictable. The electrocuted sword passed right over the ducking Pursuer, who proceeded to ram his shield into the Mirror Knight. The Looking Glass stumbled from the blow, and the Pursuer thrust for his leg. The Mirror Knight barely caught the attack on the edge of his shield, but the Pursuer was tenacious and refused to go back on the defensive. So he once again used the momentum earned from the tall knight's block to launch himself higher into the air, before kicking the Looking Glass' shield. His guard was completely broken as his shield arm was knocked back, leaving his chest completely unprotected.

The Pursuer smelled blood in the air, and landed steadily on his feet before kicking off and flying towards the Mirror Knight. He readied his sword to pierce his armor and skin, front to back. The sword closed in, it was mere feet off…

Lightning struck as the Pursuer's sword penetrated the thick plate, chainmail and skin of the Mirror Knight. A pained yell howled through the night sky, turning all eyes within a ten mile radius in that direction. The Pursuer withdrew the blade from the Looking Glass' trembling body, watching in triumph as the Mirror Knight fell to the floor…

Dead.

* * *

Dragonslayer Ornstein turned his gaze towards Drangleic Castle as a yell of another world escaped from the area. Undoubtedly a dying scream, the sound pierced the sky, louder than even the constant cracking lightning. In fact, the lightning seemed to have intensified, now shattering and coloring the sky at twice the pace of before. The lightning almost seemed like it grieved over something, and for a brief second, Dragonslayer Ornstein saw a picture materialize in the clouds.

A head with a snarling mouth gazed down upon Drangleic Castle from the clouds, two horns dotting the back of it, with two red eyes piercing their way into the castle. Then, to the Dragonslayer's shock, the face _roared_. Its mouth opened, showcasing three rows of jagged teeth, and out came a roar as real as night and day, replacing the death rattle of whatever was dying inside the castle.

And then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, it dissapeared at the next flash of lightning. Ornstein desperately tried to find it again, but when he couldn't, he resigned and sat down on the ground.

_So, it is a dragon who is guiding me. I guess whatever blockade I was going to meet, is no more. And then I guess the friend I was also going to make is gone with it._

He slammed his fist into the ground in anger. _And he was the one who was going to lead me towards answers!_

The Dragonslayer recoiled as the voice penetrated his head again. But he recoiled even more from the message:

_You can save him._

* * *

Targray didn't know what to do with himself. After being tricked by the crestfallen knight up by the monument, he had felt a certain emptiness grow inside him. Him, a tall and proud Sentinel of the Blue, outsmarted by a mere knight in a ruined town! It insulted his pride, it insulted his status and it took away his self-confidence. It made him want to go beat up the knight right now! But if he was beaten, he knew that it would ruin him completely, and he could not take that risk.

So instead, he decided to try and forget his anger by speaking to the Dragonslayer. He rose from his rock, walked through the town, and approached where the Dragonslayer was sitting…

Or had been sitting. Through the dense rain Targray saw the rock the Old Knight had sat down on, but there was no sign of the Knight himself. Where was he?!

"Dragonslayer! Dragonslayer?! Where are you?!" he shouted into the rain, scaning the town with his sight. The dense rain barely allowed him to see anything. But for a second, lightning flashed, and it revealed movement towards the ruined mansion.

"Dragonslayer?" Targray whispered as he started to make his way towards the ruined building. He couldn't see anything, but he heard something. A grumble of sorts.

"Dragonslayer, are you eating?!" shouted Targray into the rain, but no response came. However, now came the sound of something grabbing onto a ledge. Targray couldn't see anything, and dared not walk any further in fear of stumbling into the gaping pit of Majula.

He saw something big move through the air, and assumed it was the Dragonslayer training. But as lightning flashed, he saw what it really was. A giant stone, shaped like a huge hammer.

"Dragon… slayer?" Targray asked baffled, although he couldn't in any way understand how this could be him. And then lightning flashed again, and whatever had climbed out of the pit was revealed. Targray backed off in fear of the monster, his mind racing as he did.

_No, it can't be! _He thought, as the Giant swung its hammer onto its back, looking down upon the tiny Blue Sentinel in front of it.

* * *

_Guys... REVIEW! My story has 1,7K views and 30ish reviews! Need more! NEED TO KNOW IF I'M DOING GOOD OR BAD! AAAAAHAHAHAAAAAAA_

_Seriously though, there's 3 guys who are loyal to the reviewing. Just because I like to criticize it doesn't mean that I dislike being scorched myself at times! x3_


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